Alphabet price target raised to $170 from $158 at Truist

Truist raised the firm’s price target on Alphabet to $170 from $158 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm is expecting the company to report “solid” Q1 results driven by “healthy” user engagement that continues to drive more ad spending across Search and Social, helped by an ongoing recovery in pricing. Conversations with digital ad agencies suggest that the momentum seen in Q4 was sustained in Q1 across Search and YouTube, though the management’s commentary for Q2 may be cautious given the macro environment, with continued emphasis on investments in Cloud and AI, the analyst tells investors in a research note.